The president of the Alumni of Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron (AMANO), Emmanuel Maiguwa, has advised the federal government to have a rethink over its plan to convert the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) Oron into a conventional university.
The association said the academy would be better as a degree-awarding institution (rather than a conventional university) as such conversion would relegate the core aims of the establishment of the academy.
Maiguwa stated this while addressing newsmen in Lagos, saying that it is important for the academy to retain its status as Nigeria’s specialized training institution with a core mandate to train maritime professionals for both sea-going and onshore careers who serve the nation’s maritime, shipbuilding, port operations, offshore oil & gas, and related industries.
“AMANO does not consider it necessary to convert the academy to a conventional university. We are of the opinion that it should retain its name as Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, but upgraded to a degree-awarding institution, similar to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, United States; Arab Academy of Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Egypt; Philippines Merchant Marine Academy, Philippines; and the Maine Maritime Academy, United States.
“As a degree-awarding maritime academy, equipped with state-of-the-art training facilities, and adequately funded, the academy can further expand its curriculum to cover courses covering the maritime and offshore oil and gas industries.
“In addition, it can offer parallel degree and professional licence courses for different streams of students based on their individual career choices. This is the practice in many parts of the world,” he said.
Maiguwa also stated that the academy under the current rector, Commodore Duja Effedua, has witnessed tremendous changes which should be applauded, noting that the academy is currently getting the attention of stakeholders, including the National Assembly, to reposition it to meet the demands of the dynamic maritime industry.
